So now what? Salvation is by grace, through faith, in Christ Jesus the Son of God—we know all of this. We mentally understand all the theology. But then life goes on. Is it business as usual? That is, do we say the words “Jesus is Lord” and believe it to be true in our minds and then go on with our normal, broken, sinful lives? After all, as Voltaire derisively put it, God will still love you and forgive you anyway. It’s his business to. So you’re good to go; don’t bother fixing your sin problems. Is that the life that the crucified Christ has won for us? We must emphasize this as strongly as possible: anyone who thinks this way has an egregiously perverted misunderstanding of the gospel!
The gospel of Christ Jesus really does change everything—even the very essence of your life and personality. We are not meant to see the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as mere historical occurrences, an inspiring Bible story to recount on Sunday mornings. Rather, they are the central narrative of the life of every human being who is united to Christ by the grace of the Father. If your very being is wrapped up in Christ’s being, then that means his death is your death, his burial your burial, and his resurrection life your resurrection life. The you who sinned by default is dead and gone; you have been reborn with a life of righteousness and glory.
In my experience, each day brings me greater awareness of how jaw-droppingly significant it is that I am crucified and resurrected with Christ. The life I once had, characterized by sin, is dead once and for all, and my new life rests in the eternally glorified Son of God! How could I ever want to go back? To be sure, I still constantly stumble over the remnants of the old life. I will never quite be free from the entrapments of sin until I shake off this mortal flesh. But my life is the Christian life, and that is one whose central, defining characteristic is no longer sin, but righteousness and eternal glory! How could I ever want to go back?
This passage is the reason why our baptisms are always accompanied by the words “buried with Christ in baptism, raised to walk in newness of life.” Baptism is a poignant demonstration of our total union with Christ Jesus, even as far as sharing his death and resurrection. And in Christ, the believer is given a radically new life. So the life of a Christian is anything but business as usual. That old life is dead and gone. Live a new life! Such is the indispensable effect of salvation. Now that you have been justified, live the new, Heaven-oriented life that is now yours!
